Day 13 of Competition

Well my marvellous adventure has nearly come to an end. I hve completed my last shift and said my goodbyes to a wonderful group of people who have been my social group for the past 2 weeks. We have laughed and cried together and worked very hard at times. Many of the friends and families dropped in today to watch the women's hockey game. Most of the athletes still have races so they were practising, but I got to say goodbye to many of the families I have gotten to know very well. Clara Hughes' family were all out in force because this is the last time they will see many of the families, since Clara is retiring after these Olympics--a reason why her medal yesterday was so special.
After the hockey game we started setting up for the HBC sponsored breakfast tomorrow morning. I will miss it, but many of the athletes, families and volunteers will be there.
Another emotional night at the Pacific Colliseum. Joannie did her mother and her nation proud. I have to admit that I could not watch it. I listened to the commentary but just couldn't look. I will watch it tonight on reruns.
Our women played a wonderful hockey game. They certainly deserved to win. I wasn't too thrilled with the American girls' attitude when they received their medals. A few of the younger ones acknowledged the crowd, but most of them just had sour faces. Too bad they feel that way.
I don't know what it has been like in the rest of the country but I have to tell you that Canadian pride has never been stronger than it has in this city for the past 2 weeks. The other day trhe Sky Train pulled into the station and when the doors opened all you could hear was CA NA DA, CA NA DA. It was wonderful. People were talking to other people all over the place and bursting with pride that we were hosting the Olympics. I wish we could bottle the feeling and hold onto it forever.
I want to thank all of you for encouraging me to continue this blog. I have really enjoyed doing it, but there were some nights when I came home tired and didn't really feel like doing it, but I knew you were expecting it, so I pushed on and then was glad when I had done it.
My flight tomorrow sahouldn't be too bad because Westjet has little tv's so I will be able to watch the coverage on the way home, which will help the time go much faster.
It has been the thrill of a lifetime!

Day 12 of Competition

Never in my life could I have imagined how I would feel watching a Canadian win a medal at home at the Olympics. I will treasure that feeling for the rest of my life, and the medal could not have gone to a nicer Canadian. Clara Hughes is the opitome of what you would want her to be. She always has a smile on her face, is kind, generous and always has time for you--no matter what the circumstances. When she did her victory lap in shoes after the flower ceremony, it was as if she was thanking every single one of us individually. It must have taken her 20 mins. to make the trip around. Not one person left the stadium before the ceremony was over.
I was sitting at the end of the last corner in a sea of orange. The Nederlanders certainly do love their speed skating! They were pretty obnoxious whenever a Dutch skater was skating, but they also cheered for any good skater. I was so shocked when I saw how fast they skated. I had read somewhere that at top speed they are going faster than the speed limit on city streets. That is 50km per hour, and when they are doing it right in front of you it is just phenomenal! Martina Sablikova, who won the race was incredibly smooth. Her upper body was motionless, even at the end. All the power was in the legs. My only disappointment was the venue. Inside it is an absolutely beautiful building, but all around the outside they have temporary tent-like structures which funnel people in only 2 gates which are open, and the washrooms are portapotties!!! I assume that is all for security reasons but it sure detracts from the building. I would love to come back and see these venues when they are no longer shrouded in all this security stuff!
I guess this has been Wonderful Wednesday! It sure beats Super Sunday which was a bust! Imagine coming 1st and 2nd in an event--4 medals altogether--and all of them from women!
Tomorrow is my last day at the Boathouse. I stopped in on my way back from the Oval to say goodbye to some of the girls I won't see again. I am going to be sad to leave. I will certainly miss the thrill and excitement, but I must admit that it has been tiring and I am looking forward to relaxing in Florida and spending time with my family.
I almost forgot to tell you that I went to the O Zone this morning before I went to the Oval. It was interesting but not exactly hopping! I guess I went too early, but I didn't want to be late for the race.

Day 11 of Competition

Another wonderful day! One of the reasons I love the Olympics so much is the "people stories". Not the number of medals; not the IOC members who sit in their ivory towers and make rules; but the heartache and triumph and behind the scene stories of everyday people. I met the "host" family for the Morrisons today(Denny Morrison is a speed skater). This down to earth family lives in a substantial house in Richmond and they have three empty bedrooms now that children have moved away from home. When they were building the Oval, less than a kilometre from their home, they asked people in the area to consider being "host families" whenever there were races at the Oval--including World Championships and Olympics. So Dan and Ruth (I didn't catch their last names) said they would and ended up with the Morrison family at the first race and they have been staying there ever since and have become lifelong friends. Dan and Ruth knew virtually nothing about Speed Skating when they started, but are experts now!
Speaking of people stories, can you believe what Joannie did tonight? I watched the whole thing with tears streaming down my face. There were several big brawny men in the room who were pretty misty-eyed as well. As a coach I was trying to imagine what I would say or do with an athlete of mine who was going through something like that. The most touching moment for me was when the camera shot to Brian Orser who saluted her courage with a bow.
And Ashleigh McIvor(I keep wanting to say McIsaac!) was terrific.
Tonight we had a sponsor night at the Boathouse. Wrigley's Gum is a major sponsor for Speed Skating and Denny Morrison. His picture is on the package of Excel gum so there were many free samples being passed around. He had to endure almost an hour of interviews before he could join the party, but then came in and was available for pictures. He was so cute when he came in. Everyone applauded and he went beet red in the face! I took a picture of him with Dan and Ruth. His mother was there but his dad was at the hockey game!!! I can see where this sponsor thing could become very cumbersome.
Tomorrow I am off and that is the day I get to go to the Oval to watch the women's 3000m. It will be Clara Hughes' last race as an olympian so I hope she skates a satisfying race. Kristina Groves will also racing. If it is not raining I am going to go out early so I can go to the "O Zone" where lots of activities are going on. That is also where Heineken House is. I bet there wasn,t too much celebrating going on there today unless they were crying in their beers!

Day 10 of Competition

Wow! What an Ice Dance performance. That routine gives me goose bumps every time I see it. They are such a wonderful pair and so mature for their age.
I had a surprising day off today. There were no races at the Oval so they decided to give everyone an extra shift off. It was going to be a short shift for me today, but I didn`t mind having extra time to do some of the chores I need to do to get ready to leave. I went to the bank for hopefully the last time before I go home and did a laundry so I won`t have to do that again. The family I stayed with the first week invited me over for dinner, which was very nice. Paula had been to 2 figure skating events with her daughter so we all sat down together after dinner to watch the Ice Dance. It is so much more fun to watch an event with a group of people who all have the same goal in mind.
I also watched the XCountry Team Sprint this morning for both the men and women. We did extremely well--particularly the men. Alex Harvey is so young in a sport where many of the best are in their 30s. I remember his father Pierre Harvey who skied for Canada at the Calgary Olympics. He was the best we had at the time and I think he was about 25th in his races.
There was a really nice article in the Vancouver Sun this morning on the Morrison family, talking about how they were there together supporting each other. They must spend most of their time at the rink. They have 3 children-all elite skaters.
That is all the news for today. Sorry it wasn`t very interesting. Back to the Boathouse tomorrow so I should have more interesting things to talk about then.

Day 9 of Competition

I was so conflicted today. I had a ticket to see the medal ceremony, but I really wanted to see the girls race the 1500 and I only saw the first half because I knew I should leave early for the stadium because of the hockey game. So I went and am I ever glad I did. The buses and Sky train were very busy and I wasn't looking forward to going downtown but I did. I got off the Sky Train and asked for directions to B.C.Place. They have volunteers at the exit of all Sky Train stops. I was told it was straight down Georgia St.--about a 10 min. walk. Well I think that is on days when there isn't a Canada-US hockey game! The street was wall to wall people and I get a little worried in those instances because I am so short that I can't tell where I am and what is up ahead. However, 35 mins later I got to the frontof B.C. Place, but I still had some time, so I went over to Downtown Live at David Lam Park. That is where the Canada Pavilion and the Manitoba Pavilion are. I was told that people started lining up at 8:30 this morning to get in to watch the hockey game there on the big screen. I went on to the Ontario Pavilion where thousands were standing outside watching the game-- the same at Molson Hockey House.
I went through security for B.C. Place and because it is such a large venue(for Opening & Closing ceremonies) the security is about 1 km from the entrance to the venue. There are smaller crowds for the medal ceremonies but the security remains the same.
We started off with a warm-up from Ben Mulroney and Tamara someone or other doing a trivia thing which wasn't great, but then at 6:30 the show began. There were many empty seats because many people were out in the hallways watching the hockey game on the big screens. Each night, one of the provinces is highlighted for its culture and tonight it was Nunavut. We were treated to a 1/2 hour presentation of story-telling, song, art and games. It was fabulous. They did a large section on the significance of the Inukshuk and even formed a human one!
Unfortunately I was really high up so I was not able to take any pictures. I tried several times but my camera is just not good enough to get a decent picture from that far away.
After the Nunavut show, we all stood for the Olympic hymn while the Olympic flag was raised, carried in by 4 mounties.
Then the ceremony started. As the mounties marched in carrying the flags of the winning countries, we were shown video on the massive screen of the winning performances. The athletes then marched in, followed by the 3 girls with medals and flowers on trays and the 2 IOC members who were to present the medals--and it is different for each event. As the flags are raised, we are asked to stand for the anthem. The athletes then parade around for a few moments, stopping briefly for Kodak moments. As they exit, the announcer says :your medallists! and confetti is shot out of two cylinders. We then switched to a live feed from Whistler to see a medal ceremony from there--standing again for the anthem! In all we saw 4 ceremonies from Vancouver and 4 from Whistler. That is 8 anthems we stood for and they were all different. When the Stars and Stripes played for Bode Miller I sang along because I didn't get a chance to sing O Canada! That was the only disappointment, but Shani Davis is practically Canadian. We adopted him for awhile because he didn't feel comfortable on the American team. And my husband is from the Netherlands and they were represented as well.
After the ceremonies there was a concert by Trouper. They opened with "We're here for a good time, not a long time". How appropriate was that! They were very good, but very loud! I must be getting old. There was another concert after that with Loverboy, but it was already 9:30 and I was afraid if I waited much longer I was going to get caught heading back with the hockey crowd and it would take me forever. After the last game they were lined up for 2 hours to get on the Sky Train. Besides, I was getting a headache.
Congratulations to Kristina on a great race and to Scott and Tessa for a spectacular Original Dance. I can't wait for tomorrow night. I feel so badly for Joannie I can't imagine where she will find the strength to compete. For those of you who don't know, she lost her mother overnight. She had just arrived in Vancouver hours earlier and died of a sudden heart attack. The Chef de Mission for Canada, Nathalie Lambert, was having trouble composing herself while she told the media.

Day 8 of competition

Another beautiful day in Vancouver, so I ventured downtown this morning to see the flame. I passed the line to get into the Superstore which was 4 blocks long, then I passed the line for the mint where you can go and touch the medals--it was 6 blocks long and the lineup at Birks where you can buy replicas of the torch or olympic jewellery was 4 blocks long. The lineup for the unobstructed view of the flame was 1 hour long so I took my picture through the fence! I could not believe the chills I felt when I got to the flame. It was so special to be that close to the real Olympic flame!
I went to my shift today with great anticipation, knowing that the men were skating the 1500 long track and short track. Apparently the whole Morrison family spent some time at the Boathouse this morning with a sport psychologist. They were in seclusion for quite awhile. It is so interesting to be with people who know the sport and the athletes so well. When they don't have their best race on game day they are sad, but not because they didn't medal, but because they know that athlete is going to be so disappointed, knowing what they are capable of. No one feels more badly about today than Denny. His parents were terrific! They weren't disappointed, they just felt bad because they knew he felt bad and they couldn't get anywhere close to him to tell him how they felt.
At the short track today it was all "agony and ecstacy"! The roars when things went well and the ahhhhs when they didn't. Did you see Marianne in tears when Charles came 4th? She was so cute!
You will notice that I finally got a picture with Catriona. We talked for a few minutes before the picture and she actually remembered our chance encounter before the games began.
Check out my pictures for today at picasa and you will see another one of me with Jeremy Wotherspoon. I was shocked at how quiet and shy he was!
I have been meaning to tell you this for awhile now, but the next time you Ontarians complain about the price of gas, think about B.C. where it has averaged $1.10 since I got here. I asked someone if that was inflated for the Olympics and they said no.
By the way, thanks for all the comments and emails yesterday(or today for some of you!) I have such a great blog family! All I had to do was ask!
By the way, I only have 3 shifts left but I am here until Friday the 26th. I am off tomorrow and I am going to the medal ceremony tomorrow night. The concert afterward is with Trouper and Loverboy! Tell you all about it then!

Day 7 of Competition

What a beautiful day in Vancouver! The sun glistened off the snow-capped mountains, the flowering crab trees are in bloom and the trees are beginning to bud. And Jon Montgomery just won a gold medal in Skeleton. What an insane sport that is!!
My shift today was in the morning so I had to get up early and make the trek out to the Boathouse when it was still nippy. The Fraser River was like glass and the rowing team was out doing a practise run. It was a slow morning for me because there are no races today at the Oval so basically we just straightened up and cleaned up from the insane party the night before. It was kind of nice to have a slow time. The group of people I work with are terrific. They come from all over the country. The girl who is supervising the kitchen staff is from Ottawa, but she grew up in Oxford Mills and went to St. Mary's high school in Brockville! Imagine! Another girl is from Lakefield, Ontario, one from Winnipeg,one from Saskatoon, one from Moncton NB. Thre are only 2 people from B.C., both skaters and another skater from Calgary. There is a special event tonight at Richmond City Hall where a skate exhibit will be on display showing the history of the speed skate and its evolution. I saw part of it and it is fascinating. I can't believe I only have 4 shifts left! Where has the time gone! Keep the comments and emails coming. I love reading them and like to know that you are enjoying the blog.
A piece of gossip from the world of Speed Skating--Marianne St-Gelais who won the silver medal in short track is dating and soon to be engaged to Charles Hamelin who has a good chance for a medal tomorrow night.

Day 6 of Competition

 
What a day! Now I know what happens when a speed skater wins a gold medal. First of all the Boathouse went absolutely crazy when the race was on, but the real excitement happened after the race! Within about 15 mins after the flower ceremony, people started streaming in as they walked over from the Oval. As soon as we knew the results, though, someone yelled out "Get the champagne on ice!" I actually thought they were kidding, but no, we put champagne in the freezer!
We served about 150 people an Asian meal, with spring rolls, something called potstickers and sushi. I couldn't believe how much they ate, but they drank even more. We couldn't keep ahead of the glasses with the dishwasher so I had to wash and dry glasses very quickly.
As is tradition, any former speed skating olympians who are able, come and celebrate any gold medal winner either at the Olympics or at the World Championships. In the picture you see Susan Auch proposing a toast to Christine Nesbitt our newest gold medalist. Also there, were Craig Mackay-speed skater for Canada in 1948 & '52 and Catriona Le May Doan. I missed getting her picture again, because she was so busy talking to old friends. It was quite a night. We all hope it will not be the last. After the toast we all watched a replay of Christine's race.
The other picture is of Sarah Gregg, who is the sister of Jessica Gregg who came 4th last night at Short Track, and Jamie Gregg who is a long track skater who hasn't raced yet. She designed the sweat shirt she is wearing and has them for sale. She is also a skater!

Day 5 of Competition

No pictures today! I couldn't find anything new to take a picture of. After doing my newspaper run this morning I read through everything and cut out what I wanted for the scrapbook. Apparently there are reports in Great Britain that these are the worst games ever organized and they are going to great lengths to outline all the problems. Well the biggest problem has been the weather and I don't see how that is Vancouver's fault and the other little glitches are barely hiccups. Personally I think things have been wonderful so far. I must admit, though that I would like to get closer to the Olympic flame. I couldn,t believe when I found out where it was, because that is where I went to pick up the tickets I had ordered online and the area looked terrible because it was all boarded up and looked like a construction zone. I thought it was because of all the international media that are housed in that area, but it was just hiding the flame.
Out at the Boathouse today the city of Fort St. John was hosting a reception for all friends and family because Denny Morrison is from there and they have built an energy efficient Speed Skating Oval in their little town in his honour. So you can imagine the disappointment when he raced. I talked to his dad afterward and apparently he was right on target for a top 3 finish when he slipped coming out of the 2nd last turn. It was hardly even noticeable, but when there is less than a second between 1st and 15th a tiny slip is deadly!
Disappointment turned to euphoria, however when the Short Track coverage came on and Mariana St.-Gelais ended up with her silver medal. She is so young and was so excited. It was also nice to see Jessica Gregg,s parents Randy, former NHL star and Kathy, a former Olympic Speed Skater.
My schedule was revised today, because our supervisors realized that we don,t need to all work such long shifts--especially on days when it is catered by a sponsor, so my days will be a couple of hours shorter each day.
I am not complaining.
We are looking forward to the women,s 1000m tomorrow with our Ontario girls, Kristina and Christine and I am looking forward to watching Patrick Chan- hoping he has a good skate now that the pressure is off.

Day 4 of Competition

Finally! A mascot sighting! Sorry Wesley, but Grandma only found Quatchi and Miga. They were waiting for me outside the curling venue when I went to watch the match today. I went early because I had heard that you had to go 2 hours ahead of time to get through security. When I went down to B.C.Place last week I saw a sign that said if you are carrying a bag smaller than 4" x 6" you can take the express check-in, so I just took my fanny pack and my camera. I went to the express lane and was inside in 10 mins. So that was really easy.
The atmosphere in the arena was absolutely electric. I am sure it was much louder than most of those curlers were used to. When Canada scored 3 in the 7th end the whole place erupted and lasted almost 5 minutes. It gave me chills!
Speaking of chills--how about that gold medal today in snowboard cross! What an exciting sport that is!
I have been faithfully reading the newspapers out here and I am REALLY getting annoyed about the emphasis on hockey. The tournament has barely begun and there were 12 pages in the Vancouver Sun today that had at least one hockey story on them. There are so many other struggling athletes out here that have put their lives on hold to represent their country and they have to take a back seat to multi-millionaire professionals!
Well that is my rant for today. I promise I won't mention it again but I will quietly seethe!
I had a wonderful day today waving my Canada flag, decked out in my Canada gear and ringing my cow bell. It doesn't get any better than this.
Tomorrow it is back to the Boathouse.
By the way I have gone back and labelled captions on the early pictures I entered so if you want an explanation you can go back and check at picasaweb.google.com/sharon.devries2010.

Day 3 of Competition

I had a leisurely morning today. I spent most of it watching the men's downhill--a bit of a disappointment, but not totally unexpected. We don't have a good recent history in skiing, and all of the injuries certainly haven't helped. Still you can always hope for a good result. But Cypress Mountain has certainly been kind to Canada. We got our 3rd medal there today and that was a nice surprise.
I went to work for 2:30 and things were very quiet because most people who had been there for the breakfast in the morning were heading out to the Oval to watch the men's 500m. We knew we would get really busy around 7:00 when the race was supposed to be over and people would be coming back, hopefully to celebrate. Well the delay with the resurfacing machine meant that people didn't come back until almost 9:00 so it made for a very late night. People were a little disappointed with the Canadian results, but the Asians were expected to take at least 2 of the 3 medals--but they took all three.
I was tired when I got home, but I am off tomorrow so I won't have to stand on my feet for long stretches and that will be good. I must look really old, though. Almost every time I step on a bus or subway, someone stands up and offers me their seat! It is very nice.
I am going to my first event--men's curling. So watch for me on t.v., Wesley and Ella! Maybe you will see Grandma there!
I will be decked out in as much Canada gear as I can get on my body. Some of the getups are absolutely hilarious. The picture today is of a group of Dutch Speed Skating fans on their way to the Oval. So hopefully I will have many new things to share tomorrow.

Day 2 of Competition

What a day! Happy Valentine's Day! Happy Chinese New Year! Happy Day for Canada! Happy Day for me! The first picture shows people milling around waiting for Cindy, Clara and Kristina to race. The second picture is for my Grandson Alexandre. This is me with Kyle Shewfelt who won a gold medal for Canada in gymnastics in 2004 in Athens. My shift today started off early because I wanted to see the whole race and not be on my way to work, but there were so many people there when I got there that I started to work right away. It was very exciting to watch the race. Everyone was clapping rhythmically in time with each other hoping we were being heard down the way at the oval. When the results were posted, the place erupted. Shortly afterward we had to work hard to clean things up because the Marriot hotel was coming in to do a catered function called the "Canadian Sport Heroes Collection"--12 athletes honoured for changing the face of athletics in Canada. Each of them had a portrait painted and on display. Four of them came to the special function and many others could not come because they had various other functions to do right now. Those that came were: Diane Jones-Konihowski, Gaetan Boucher, Silken Laumann and Alex Baumann. My picture gallery shows a poster with all names on it. To toast these fine athletes other former olympians were invited to come and pour the champagne for the toast. These were Kyle Shewfelt, Blythe Hartley(diving), Michelle Cameron(synchronised swimming with Carolyn Waldo), Daniel Igali(freestyle wrestling) and 2 other wrestlers whose names I did not catch. I talked to several of them. They were all so nice and down to earth. I spent about 15 mins. with Kyle and Graham Konihowski came over to me and said "I hear you used to coach track and field to school children." I have no idea how he found that out, but he and Diane were both high school phys. ed. teachers so we had a great chat and then Diane came over and he introduced her to me. The whole evening was just unbelievable. I couldn't have imagined a better one. And with a gold medal to boot! We all erupted with joy when it happened. Apparently there was one big party in downtown Vancouver after it happened. People said they waited 2 hours for a Skytrain car that wasn't totally packed. As soon as the crowd petered out I was told I could go home. I was really torn, because Kristina was going to come by with her medal for a little celebration but it would be another hour and a half at least so I decided I would come home. There will be others!! Off to soak my feet!

Day 1 of Competition

The first picture is of me in front of the Speed Skating Inukshuk. This is the image of the medals that we put together for the parents. The second picture is of me in my uniform inside the boathouse in front of the Speed Skating Canada poster wall.

I decided I needed to have a shorter day today, so I went to buy the Vancouver Sun in the morning and then I had a leisurely time reading all about the Olympics. My nephew also had the Globe and Mail so there was no shortage of articles to read! The big news out here is the weather! I know now why they call it the "Wet Coast!"

We had our first event at the Richmond Oval so it was very exciting. We are on the way to the Oval so everyone walks by the Boathouse to get there. Although the most predominant colours of clothing were red and white, there was also a preponderance of bright orange--the colour of the Dutch team. We watched the race live at the Boathouse and low and behold the Dutch skater Sven Kramer won the gold! Our cohort Saskia from Holland was very happy. She said the whole country was counting on him to win the gold medal, so there was a lot of pressure on him, because apparently the rest of the team is not that good. Like hockey is for us, speed skating is so much a part of the Dutch heritage and they are embarassed if they don't do well.

It was exciting to watch Canada win its first medal courtesy of Jenn Heil. Once again she has led the way for all our other athletes.

Later on, I overheard Denny Morrison's mother say she got a chance to speak to him briefly after his race. He was pleased with his result because he was using this race to test the ice and his nerves for the races where he expects to do well--shorter distances.

Signing off early tonoght.

Oh! Canada!

Wow! What a day! It started off early with my last trip to the Olympic Superstore. I arrived at the Bay at exactly 9:00 (opening hour). The lineup went down Seymour to the next block and around the corner. I went to the end and miraculously got in before they stopped the line. I made my purchases and was pleased that I got everything I wanted, but I knew I had to make all my choices today because I wasn,t going to brave the crowds and the lineups again, and besides the merchandise is getting pretty picked over. So each of my grandchildren will get something special, which I hope they like! I came out of the Bay in time to see the torch go by carried by Sam Sullivan who was the mayor of Vancouver when they won the bid, and was in Turin doing wheelies in his wheelchair. I came home, quickly got changed and headed off to the Boathouse. When I got there I immediately heard about the tragedy and felt the sense of gloom in the building. It was such a shock, because the atmosphere downtown had been so joyous. We got to work getting the banquet room ready for the Opening Party. People started arriving around 5:30 and the excitement started to build. There was a great whoop went up when Clara entered the stadium carrying the flag. The pride in that room was unbelievable! Every time a speed skater was shown individually a great cheer would go up, and there was hardly a dry eye in the place. One of the girls I am working with is from Holland (Friesland actually) and so she didn,t understand the significance of much of the Opening so we were giving her an analysis. She knew some of the celebrities, but not Barbara Ann Scott, Ann Murray, Donald Sutherland and a few others. There was silence in the room when k.d. lang sang that incredible song, and pride when the official,s oath was taken by a member of our Short Track officiating team. The last great bit of pride happened when one of the last torch bearers was Catriona Le May Doan. I realize some of you may not have been familiar with her name when I mentioned it a few days ago, but hopefully you know her pretty well now. The buzz around the room today was that of all the people involved in Speed Skating Canada, the 2 nicest are Clara and Catriona. And that brings me to the best part of the day for me. At the end of the shift the volunteers were told that a block of tickets had become available today and were for sale if we were interested. I had only one day off left so I checked for that date and was thrilled to see that there were tickets in the 6th row for the ladies 5000 m final! Can you believe it! That is Clara,s race! Wow! I am so excited! It wasn,t cheap but it was worth it.
Now you may have noticed that there are no pictures. Unfortunately I didn,t know that when you put a card in you have to switch this camera back to external memory, so today,s pictures are also stuck! I am so sorry, but it is fixed now and I promise tomorrow to be back in the photo business!

Training Day

I was so anxious to get started today. I left the apartment at 11:30 and got to the UBC Boathouse at 12:40. I hope it doesn't take much longer than that each day, because it sure adds to the length of the shifts! I am sorry I do not have any pictures for you today because I forgot to put the card back in the camera yesterday so all the pictures I took today are stuck in the camera. I have put it back in now so I will be ready to go tomorrow.
When I got to the Boathouse today the first thing they did was take my picture for the official accreditation. Then we were given our official vests (red) and scarves. We were given a tour of the facility. There is one large banquet room with a kitchen at the end and then several small rooms off to the side for administration. One of the things happening in those rooms is a ticket liaison. If someone has extra tickets they can be sold through Speed Skating Canada House much more cheaply than the Vanoc ticket service.
Our first job today was to prepare the medals for the parents. Whenever a speed skater wins a medal, his or her parents receive a medal in the shape of the speed skating Inukshuk. I will have a picture for you tomorrow. They are beautiful--made out of pewter. We were putting red satin ribbon through the hole today so they can be hung around the neck. We did 61 of them and they hope that all 61 will be given away. Several times today I heard people say "We expect to win medals every day!" That would be so exciting! We then took a tour of the kitchen and served the executives some munchies for lunch. I met the President of Speed Skating Canada and the President of Speed Skating Ontario is a volunteer in the Food and Beverage area with me. She is very nice and is staying in the same general area as me so we take the same transit home.
Today I met Susan Auch, a 2 time silver medallist for Canada in Speed Skating. She is also an analyst for CTV in speed skating.
Tomorrow is my first full shift. We are doing a reception for Friends and Family during the Opening Ceremonies. I can't wait!!

Lots of Walking

Today I went to Canada Hockey Place and took this picture of the fellow at the entrance. I couldn't get in because they don't open until Friday, but it was fun to see from the outside. The front door is shaped like a huge red maple leaf. This is next door to BC Place. I couldn't get near there either because they were having the dress rehearsal for the Opening Ceremonies and everything is a secret, although there are some leaks about it on ctvolympics.ca. I also picked up my ticket that I ordered online for a medal ceremony on one of my days off. That took awhile because I went to Robson Square where I had bought my last ticket and they told me there was a 2 hour wait, so I walked over to the foot of Burrard St. where the convention centre is and the wait was only 50 mins. So that combined with the walk to BC Place meant about 18000 steps in total today. My heart surgeon would be proud!!

The other picture is of a condo building on Granville Island.I think that is the bggest flag I have ever seen!

I have moved to my nephew's apartment and we are becoming good buddies!!

The Boathouse

I did a dry run today to see how long it would take me to get to work. I walked to the bus stop, took the bus to the skytrain, the skytrain to Richmond and then a 1.2 km walk. That took 1 hour and 20 min. and the Olympics haven't even started yet. The boathouse is beautiful! I can't wait to start working. When I left the boathouse and started walking toward the Oval, a nice looking girl with all kinds of credentials around her neck was walking toward me. We smiled at each other and then I said "Catriona?" and she said "Yes!" It was Catriona LeMay Doan! I was so stunned I didn't say anything else and we just kept walking. I didn't take a picture or anything! I will have to get my act together if that happens again. I couldn't see much of the Oval because it is behind barriers--presumably until Friday.

Then I went back downtown again and the crowds are growing more every day. There are cameras everywhere!! The second picture is of Cambie street downtown which is closed for the duration of the Olympics and there are several sculptures which light up at night.

This is my last night with my gracious hosts. Tomorrow I move to my nephew's apartment.

Downtown Vancouver

I went downtown today to explore and I started at the Olympics Superstore. This is the entire 1st floor of the main Hudson's Bay Co. store downtown. I could not believe how many items they had . They were divided into sections and the section for mascot merchandise was huge. I may have to buy another suitcase to get home! After it stopped raining I left the Superstore and walked around taking pictures of the various buildings that are decorated. The top picture is the RBC building. I finally found the information building at Robson Square and then found out they were selling tickets there as well. After standing in line for about an hour I was able to get a ticket for a curling draw on the 16th of February.

I was limited to my days off so there wasn't much choice. I was hoping to buy a ticket for a medal ceremony but there were none left on the days that I could go but they told me to look on a website tomorrow to see if some become available. I will definitely do that.

Robson Square is neat because they have built a skating rink there and yesterday Katarina Witt and Elizabeth Manley went for an impromptu skate on it. If you remember, in 1988 in Calgary, Katarina won the gold medal in women's figure skating and Elizabeth won the silver. They are both here as guest analysts for CTV and NBC and decided to go for a skate together. Too bad I missed it! I was one day late!

I am off to watch a basketball game tonight. My hosts' daughter is playing in the Regional tournament to see which teams qualify for the provincial championships. It should bring back some old memories!!

Arrived!

I'm here! I had a great flight and landed almost on time. The airport was so efficient that from the time we landed until the time I left the airport was less than 15 minutes!! I had no idea an airport could be that efficient. My host and hostess have been wonderful. The first thing we did was drive over to Richmond to see the Olympic Oval and the UBC Boathouse where I will be working. They are both all decked out in wonderful Olympic regalia. We didn't get out of the car because the roads are all blocked off and besides it was raining. Then we drove to Granville Island where they have a spectacular market filled with the most wonderful fresh vegetables, baked goods, fresh meat, flowers and craft artisans. It is a very unique area which used to be an old factory area. It has been spruced up and is now quite a tourist attraction.
We came back to their house and I got settled in in time to watch the Super Bowl! (But my friend Peyton lost!!)
Tomorrow I am hoping to go downtown to scout out some of the venues and check out the ticket office to see if I can get tickets for events on my days off. I hope it stops raining so I can get some decent pictures.
There is a wonderful video of the Olympic song "I Believe" on the www.ctvolympics.ca site.
I have been up for 19 hours now so I think I will crash and connect with you tomorrow.

Birthday Cake

Just in case there is anyone left on this planet who isn't aware that I am an Olympics nut, here is a picture of the birthday cake I made for my 2 oldest grandchildren for their birthday yesterday. The room was decorated in streamers of the 5 colours of the rings and there were small flags from various countries on the table. They are studying the Olympics at school so it was a perfect theme for all of us. For those of you who do not know, the 5 rings stand for the five continents of the world and the 5 colours represent all the colours in the flags of every participating country. The final stretch is on for packing so I will get back to it.